Artconnexion is a place of hospitality, learning, knowledge exchange, artistic experimentation and encounters. By devising co-constructed projects across the region, artconnexion contributes towards art in common.

Theorised by Estelle Zhong-Mengual, art in commun refers to artistic practices that operate collectively in the social space over the long term. By addressing issues of participation and community, it takes on a political dimension and helps to reinvent possible forms of the collective.
In 2024, artconnexion opened its Art in Common Library, which collects, conserves and promotes writings, documents and archives related to art in common.

Citizen commissions

Since 2000, artconnexion has coordinated the Nouveaux commanditaires initiative in the Hauts-de-France region. In this capacity, artconnexion has produced over forty works in Northern France, Norway, Poland and the UK.

The New Patrons programme enables groups of local people to be supported in their commissioning of an artwork that responds to a specific context they have identified. These citizen-commissioners come together around a shared objective: to develop a work in response to a situation and/or need, a social or societal issue (rural depopulation, revitalising social bonds, ecological transition, the search for the identity of a community or territory...).

A mediator-cultural producer accompanies the commissioning process through all its stages, acting as an intermediary between the community commissioners and the artist or scientist (this approach is also being developed in the sciences), to ensure that everyone involved finds their rightful place in the process.

Based on the brief given by the commissioners, the artist explores new perspectives, proposes new imaginary worlds and constructs alternative narratives. Whether permanent or ephemeral, large or small, participatory or contemplative, the form best suited to the commission will be found for the work while respecting the artist's freedom of invention and creation.

Initiated and supported by the Fondation de France, since 2020 the Société des Nouveaux commanditaires has been structuring, coordinating and federating the Nouveaux commanditaires initiative which is implemented by a network of mediators-cultural producers in each region.

www.lasocietedesnouveauxcommanditaires.org

www.nouveauxcommanditaires.eu